TOTTENHAM have been branded ‘irresponsible’ for breaching gambling rules in the Champions League.
Spurs’ Twitter account reveals the starting XI for European games with a link to the website of bookmaker William Hill.
There the club’s 3.4million followers can get the latest odds on the game but the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – the UK’s advertising regulator – say that can’t be done.
Tottenham have been told that showing images of younger players, such as 23-year-old Dele Alli, alongside links is a breach of gambling rules.
Before the clash with Borussia Dortmund on March 5, Tottenham used pictures of players including Harry Winks and Davinson Sanchez alongside the logo of William Hill. This was retweeted nearly 1,000 times.
That was branded irresponsible following new guidelines which came into force on April 1.
These stated that online ads for gambling products must not target individuals likely to be under 18.
This includes a standard prohibiting of the use of sportspeople, celebrities or other characters who are or appear to be, under 25.
Following conversations with the ASA, Tottenham will now not show the full team in tweets. Instead, they will show a picture of one over-25 player.
The ASA said in a statement: “The ad must not appear again in the form complained of.
“We understood the intention of the tweet was to inform the audience of the starting line-up.
“However, we considered that of equal measure was its aim to offer the audience an opportunity to place a bet on the match.
“In that context, while the significance of Harry Winks and Davison Sanchez was no greater than the other players in the line-up, the 11 players were the focus of the tweet, and we considered that each of them played an equally significant role in the marketing communication.”
Before the win over Ajax on Wednesday night, 29-year-old Moussa Sissoko was used by the club’s Twitter team.